Scenario-based Customer Service

Timeline 

The process

As the service industry becomes more competitive, it's important for employees to have top-notch customer service skills. One of the biggest challenges in the service industry is providing consistent and high-quality customer service. As an instructional designer, I have worked in the past designing and developing learning projects aimed at employees in the service industry. I used those years of experience working with learners of the service industry, as well as the help of an SME, to organize a roadmap for the project and do learner research. This required creating small focus groups and surveys to understand learners' needs and problems. Then, I worked with the SME to create course objectives based on the learners' weak points and pain points during their customer service learning process.

Action Map

I collaborated with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to define the key goals and success markers for this eLearning project. I also interviewed and surveyed various employees in the service industry, asked about their experience, and research their pain points. This helped me understand what parts of their job and knowledge need to be reinforced. I then created a visual action map of the eLearning interaction's flow using Miro to help to ensure that the content is organized in a logical way that makes sense to the learner. The action map included the learning objectives, the sequence of scenes, and assessments, which I created with the help of Bloom's Taxonomy. While creating the action map, I had in mind the learners' perspective, ensuring that the flow of the interaction is intuitive and easy to follow for them. I then established an indicator of success by tracking the learner’s responses throughout the whole interaction. 

Thanks to the interviews, and surveys, as well as the marked key goals and indicators of success that I established together with the SME, I decided that the best way to deliver the content would be through a scenario-based interactive learning project.  By creating a scenario-based eLearning interaction, employees can practice handling various customer situations in a safe and controlled environment, which can improve their confidence and skill set.

Storyboard

After creating the action map, and establishing the key actions and goals, I proceeded to create a visual storyboard. I designed a detailed outline of the eLearning interaction,  that included the specific details of each scene, the dialogues, visuals, graphics, links to these graphics, and any interactive elements. As the project advanced, I updated the storyboard with visual elements and designs. I kept the learner's perspective in mind when creating the storyboard to ensure that the visuals and dialogue were engaging and relevant. The storyboard acted as a blueprint for the development of the eLearning interaction, which ensured that the content was accurate and appropriate for the learning objectives described during the action map process. 

Visual Design

The visual design of the eLearning interaction is important for creating an engaging and effective learning experience. I used Canva to include appropriate images and custom graphics that help to convey the message and reinforce the learning objectives. I also created a consistent visual design throughout the eLearning interaction. By leveraging a visually appealing and consistent style, we can help to make the content more memorable and increase engagement, which can improve retention and transfer of learning.

Development

The next step was to start developing the project using Storyline 360 because it allows for the creation of interactive content that can help to reinforce the learning objectives. I followed the storyboard closely when developing the eLearning interaction, ensuring that the content is accurate and aligned with the learning objectives. I had to test, tweak and improve the interaction to guarantee that it functions properly and is accessible to all users. I added a few interactive elements and media, like sound effects and simple animations, to support and promote active learning and increase motivation, which can improve retention and transfer of learning. I choose media and sounds that were not too striking or flashy, to not distract learners from the content.

Job Aid

Lastly, I designed a job aid as a reference tool for employees to review the customer service skills they learned in the eLearning interaction. It was designed to be easy to use and access, including key takeaways, and reminders of the learning objectives. This job aid was designed to be complementary to the eLearning interaction, for employees to use when they need a quick reference. By providing a job aid, we can help to ensure that the learning is transferred to the workplace and put into practice, promoting the transfer of learning and supporting on-the-job performance.

Key Takeaways

Overall, creating a scenario-based eLearning interactive project that helps employees learn and practice customer service skills involves careful planning, design, and development. The content has to be engaging, effective, and aligned with the learners' needs and expectations. It's important to keep the user's perspective in mind throughout the process and to test the interaction thoroughly before releasing it to ensure that it meets the learning objectives and is accessible to all users. By following a detailed process, I could create effective eLearning interactions that can help to improve customer service skills and enhance the overall confidence of the employees.